http://www.woodreview.com.au 61TECHNIQUEglue-up. Second, try to use similar types of clamps, thus
keeping any unequal clamping pressure to a minimum.
Lastly, break down a wide panel into sub-panels, gluing
up two or three boards at a time. Once the sub-panels
are cured, glue them up to form the final panel.
To edge glue two boards together, I use regular clamps
with notched glue blocks like the ones shown in photo 4
to ensure flatness. The notched glue blocks of varying
lengths can be easily drilled in batches on the drill press
and then ripped in half.
When joining, alternate the clamps over and under the
workpiece to balance the clamping pressure (photo 5).
Check for flatness and for any wind while the glue-up can
still be adjusted. Finally, make sure you do not move the
assembly right away, or lean it against a wall which could
lead to warping. I prefer to let a clamped glue-up sit on a
flat surface for no less than half an hour before removing
the glue squeeze-out.
- Gluing up dovetail joints
Many traditional woodworkers are taught to hand cut their
through dovetails with the pins slightly proud. Custom
clamping cauls are then needed to press the tail boards
tight to the pin boards. I layout and cut dovetails using the
method advocated by Ian Kirby, a British-trained furniture
designer and teacher. His method dispenses with the use of
clamping cauls for the dovetail glue-up.
Kirby’s approach is to cut the joint such that the tail board
sits slightly above the ends of the pin board. With no
protruding ends, you can clamp the joints with just regular
clamps (photo 6). Once cured, simply remove the clamps
and sand or plane all the surfaces flush (photo 7).
2413- Angled cauls are the answer
to clamping oddly-shaped
joints or parts. - The final shelf is glued up
from two sub-assemblies. - The sand bites into the wood,
preventing the mating pieces
from slipping during clamping. - Notched blocks clamped over
the gluelines along the ends
help keep the boards flush
and flat.